Foot casting for derricks and method of using the same



Now. 18, 1930.

D. D. WERTZBERG ER FOOT CASTING FOR DERRIGKS' AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME Filed June 2 1923 7 n a pm a y a Patented Nov. 18, 1930..

' VUNITEQDY sr TEs DALLAS nwnnrzn'nnsnn, smut-S O LAH MA room CASTING ron nnnn rcxs Arm ian'rnonor ns ve rim satin Application filed June 2, 1928. send no; 282,328.

highly desirable for use with combination pipe and steel derricks,by slight changes in the construction, the invention is as readily applicable to all-pipe or all-steel derricks;

V The modern tendency, especially with regard to oil well derricks, is to eliminate the objectionable and enormous expense incorporated in the cumbersome and laborious timber construction, including the mortising and tying of legs and mud sillsnecessitated in the erection of a woodenderrick, by the utilization of all-metal derricks which are more economical after repeated use due to the rapidity'and ease with which they may be assembled and dismantled, and due to the fact that they may be transferred from one foundation to another without. the necessity of 20 rebuilding the foundations. In the oil fields .it frequently happens,*that certain flowing wells must bepulled rather often and so their respective derricks mu'st'be left standing over them. On the other hand, certain wells may cause little or no trouble after they once become flowing wells, and obviously it is highly desirable to remove the derrick and remount it in a difierent location.

In the past various types of foundations and leg supports have been developed, but have proven obj ectionablein most instances in that they were not sufficiently simple in construction but necessitated the use of mud sills and other parts which, when'viewed in the light of the present invention, are superfluous; Moreover, theseformerly known mounting means when incorporated with a foundation, projected an objectionable distance above the ground. Further, they were not sufiiciently permanent and rigid, but after a derrick was once set up,-alignment operations, in' nearly all cases, were necessary to properly center the derrick over the drill hole. a

The present invention has been designed to overcome the above noted defects and objec-f tions in the provision of a footcastingadapted for rea'dy and easy mounting .on a firm 7 foundation and to support aderrick leg in conjunction withsimilar castings in such a manner thatflittle or no aligninglofthe derrick is necessary; i j 1, The invention alsoseeksto: provide foot supports which are removable or permanent as desired and which require very little attention."

Afurther object 'of the present'invention is 1 to'provide afoot support directly engageable with girts as well as with the "derrick s whereby mbersome mud sills may b dispensed with; o

A still-further object of the presentinven- 7 tion' is to provide a foot support mountable on a foundation ina predetermined and fixed position so that when" a" derricklgis mounted on a set of such supports, the 'der rick will be rigid and firm and ready'for use with little or noadjustments.

A still further object of the present invention is toprovide a new method of'utilizing foot supports.

1 \Vhile some of the vmore salient features, to

" characteristics-and advantages, of v a device embodying the presentinvention have'been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures.

The present invent-ion includes these and Q5 other features Of-YCOIIStIllCtIOII and, combinations of parts hereinafter described, and shown in a preferred form in the drawings, as more particularly indicatedbythe'claim.

On the drawings: T Figure l'is a fragmentary elevational view of a derrick in which are incorporated dey i vices embodying principles "of the present V invention. j

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan sectional view taken alongline II-e11 of Figure 1, of a portion of vvthe structure and one of the de vices shownjini Figure 1. v Y c Figure 3 is an enlarged view inelevation,

with parts brokenawayand parts in section,

taken substantially as indicated byline IIIIII of Figure-2.

Figure l is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line IV IV of Figure 2.

As shown in the drawings:

In Figure 1 there is shown imbedded in the ground 1, a plurality (fourbeing customary.) of foundation members 2, prefer ably-formed from plastic materialsuch as concrete or the like. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention there is shown a leg support, generally indicated as 3, mounted upon each of the foundation members 2. Supported by thesupports 3, is a preferably by bolts 10 imbedded inlthe foundation 2. Projecting upwardly from the base 9 is a tubular portion 11 which ispreferably cored when the footsupport 3 is cast so as to telescopically receive therein the lower end of a,leg.5. It should be noted that the tubular portion llis inwardly inclined at :a predetermined angle governed by the mown slant of the legs 5 which, ,as is customary, converge toward the crown of the derrick. Both the leg 5fand ,thetubular portion 11 are transversely drilled to accommodate a through bolt 12 which lefi'ectively secures the leg in its socket. .Adjacent the lower end thereof, the tubular portion 11 is provided with a radial bore .13 vwhich acts as a drain port for the moisture seeping down between the leg and the socket. On the outer side of the portion 11, opposite the drain port 13, reinforcements 14 are provided to .bctterenable. the portion- 11 to withstand the outward thrustof the leg. 5.

structure as a whole. means embody a pair of w ngsx15 prqecting outwardly from the lnner part of the tubular Means are provided on the footcasting for engagement with the lowermost girt 7 to rigidify and strengthen the derrick super- In this instance, these portion 11 substantially normally thereto and substantially at right angles to each other. Each of these wings is provided with suitable apertures :16 therein to adjustably accommodate bolts 17 by which the ends of the girt 7 are secured to the wings.

It will be apparent from the structure hereinbefore recited that the base 9 of the foot casting is preferably positioned diagonall or, mother words, with one of the corners extending inwardlytowards the center ofthe :derrick. It will be equally apparent from the disclosures herein that a bolt 10 at the inner corner of the base is totally unnecessary, and so this corner is provided with a releg pilot 18. r

This releg pilot 18 is in efi'ectmerely an upwardly extending boss over which a temporary leg maybe positioned so as to be effectively supported thereby. The weight of that site of thetowermay then be carried by the temporary leg, thus leaving the main leg 5 free from strain for removal, replacement or other attention.

The novel method of using, the present invention is simple and extremely economical.

The foundation posts 2 are first provided after the location of the drill hole has been determined. lVhile the concrete or other plastic material is still in'a soft condition the bolts 10 are imbedded therein, so that when the concrete sets a firm foundation is provided with securing means attached thereto. hese. corner foundations-are spaced equi-distant from he location of the drill hole with their tops preferably atgroiuid level. In the setting of the formulation posts no consideration need be given to the placement of the apparatus, such as Samson post, walking beam, bull-wheel, etc.

After the foundation posts are provided the foot castings may be easily bolted thereon with the bolts 10 at the same time in which the superstructure of the derrick is to be erected orprior ,thereto,.as is desirable. When it is desired to erect the derrick itlis simply necessary to insert the legs 5 in the respective footcastings and secure the lowermost girts Ttofithe respective wings 15.-. It will be apparent, therefore, that'no alignment of the derrick is necessary, the foot. castings determining its proper position.

If it isdesired'to. transfer the superstructure'it is merely necessaryv to remove the girt bolts 17 and theother bolt 12, leavingthe castingsmounted'to the foundations if so desired- It is to be noted that the castings project onlya. slight distance above the; ground occupying very little space, and leaving prac- 'tically the entire surface for other use when the superstructure is removed.

t The derrick floor may be mounted on the lowermost girt 7, the derrick structure providing ample room for all necessary machinery.

,With respect-tothe present invention it is to be clearly understood that while the terms .girts and derrick, etc. are used herein and in the appended claim, it is obvious that the supports shown and described herein may be 'used with many and varied. types. of fabricated structures without departing from the scope of the invention.

. From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided simple and efficient foot cast- ,ings or leg supports for a fabricated structure, the leg supports being easily and readily secured to or removed from permanent foundations and'permitting the mounting thereon or removal therefrom of a derrick or similar structure. 7

Moreover, the leg castings determine the position of the structure thereby eliminating later alignment of the same, are readily installed and removed, are rigid and durable,

and may be economically manufactured.

' I am aware that many changes maybe made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles. of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limit-.

ing the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art. 7

I claim as my invention: As an article of manufacture, a unitary support for a derrick leg adapted to be fastened to the top of the plastic foundation 7 comprising a base formed to be'secured to base and disposed between said ears, said lateral ears being arranged so-as to guide the releg in said boss.

In testimony whereof Ihave h ereunto sub scribed my name at Tulsa,-Tulsa County, Oklahoma.

DALLAS D. \VERTZBERGER. 

